Thank You for Being a Friend
by callitintheair
Summary: John decides that Dean is old enough to start hunting and Sam is left behind.
1. Chapter 1

Thank You for Being a Friend

Chapter 1

Summary: When John decides that Dean is old enough to start hunting, Sam is left behind for the summer.

AN: Another one for Robbie. 

Disclaimer: I still don't own anything...sigh or anyone.

Enjoy...

* * *

_Sam stood in the living room at Jim's house, he recognized the room immediately. _

_Where were Dad and Dean though?_

_Sam looked around the large room, laying on a mat in front of the blazing fire place was Tiny, Jim's 190 pound Great Dane and just outside the entrance to the kitchen, stood Jim. _

_Jim held a phone to his ear and was listening intently, he had a deep frown on his face and his eyebrows were drawn together with an intense combination of concentration, worry, and melancholy. _

_Sam's heart sank when Jim's eyes meet his. The pastor's expression described the situation more than words possibly could. Jim's eyes held compassion and sympathy, along with his own sadness and grief. _

_The thing that worried Sam the most was that Jim didn't even try to smile or reassure him in any way, as if to say that the situation was utterly hopeless. Jim's eye never left Sam's face, Sam was sure the pastor had not blinked in nearly five minutes. _

_Sam tore his eyes away, he couldn't stand the hopelessness and dome that Jim's steady gaze filled him with, Jim was a man of God he could find hope under the most__bleak of circumstances__. Sam was shaking, he could feel his breath coming in shorter gasps, and tears welled up in his eyes._

_Jim nodded, clearly, as a response to something said on the other end of the line, then in almost a whisper he replied. "I'll tell him." _

_He hung up and set the phone down on it's hanger, he then proceed towards Sam, who was unknowingly trying to make himself invisible, he had slowly drifted towards the far corner of the room and made himself as small as he possibly could. _

_Jim came to stood right in front of Sam, he felt like he was towering over the boy who was doing his best to shrink into himself, he laid his hand on the boy's shoulder._

"_Sam..." He started slowly and gently, messaging Sam's shoulder as he spoke. "He doesn't have much time and he wants to see you." _

_Sam shook his head frantically, unable to form words—_No, please not my brother! Take me instead, please!

_Jim spoke again still softly, but with an unmistakable firmness. "He's dying Sam."_

­

* * *

Sam's eyes shot open and he gasped sharply, he felt hot tears on his cheeks, but didn't bother to wipe them away.

"_He's dying Sam._" Echoed through his head.

His eyes scanned the room...it was just another dumpy hotel room, not Jim's living room. He glanced over to the other side of the bed when he felt something bump his arm—

"Dean." He breathed a sigh of relief, his brother looked fine, not a hair out of place. 

It was just a dream. He whispered a prayer of thanks to the Almighty. 

Sam snuggled closer to his brother and even in his sleep Dean through his arm around Sam. Sam breathed in Dean's scent and took a moment to appreciate his brother before he let himself focus on the other activities go on in the room.

He could hear a quiet voice droning in the background and he could make out the words quite clearly.

"Dean is old enough to be out hunting with me now, especially for the summer, it's time that he got some hands on experience." John spoke into his cell phone, the boys were supposed to be asleep, but there was no way that Sam was going to fall back to sleep now. 

He was lying with his back towards John, beside Dean in the lumpy motel bed, and he was trying to keep from panicking as he eavesdropped on John's conversation with Pastor Jim. 

He could just barely hear Jim's voice answer. _"What about Sam?" _

Sam and Dean always stayed with Pastor Jim during the summer while John went off hunting by himself or with Caleb or Bobby, or who ever else needed an extra man.

John was quiet for a while he was listening to Pastor Jim, and then he spoke softly. "Sam will still stay with you, but Dean is 14 now and it's time he learns how to put all his training to use."

"_You're going to have Dean hunt with you!"_

He replied more loudly this time. "No, of course not, Dean will just be watching, he's not ready yet. Maybe once he's sat in on a few hunts I'll let him help me on an easy one." 

"_And you're just going to leave Sam here all by himself while you and Dean wander around the country?" _

"He won't be by himself, he'll be with you. It's not like I'm just dumping Sam, he and Dean always stay with you in the summer." 

"_Don't play dumb John; you know exactly what I mean he's not going to have anyone to play with. If I were a ten year old I wouldn't want to spend the whole summer with me."_

Sam was being abandoned for the summer. He enjoyed going to stay with Pastor Jim, but he always had Dean to play with and they kept each other entertained, he couldn't imagine how boring it would be to stay there all by himself. 

"You make it sound like Dean and I are headed off on a pleasure cruise and we're leaving Sam behind as some sort of punishment."

"_That's probably how it will feel for him. Think of it from Sam's prospective...he'll hardly get to see either of you all summer." _

"This isn't about having fun, Dean needs to learn things that can only be taught by experience, I'd take Sam too if I could, but he's still too little. Dean is learning how to save lives. Sam will just have to except it. Maybe you can help him brush up on his Latin."

"_He's ten years old and he already knows his Latin better than most hunters that I've come across, yourself included."_ Jim said he heard John scoff on the other end. _"I'm just saying that if I had to choose between you and him to perform an exorcism..."_

"Shut up." John growled.

"_If anyone needs to 'brush up' on their Latin it's you." _Jim teased. _"But seriously what is he going to do out here all summer?"_

"I'm sure he'll find something to keep himself entertained, you have enough books to keep him busy for a lifetime."

"_He can't read all summer even if he wanted to, and I'm sure he doesn't, it's not healthy."_

"He can play with dog of yours, Sammy loves him."

"_Sam needs to socialize with people he's too closed off as it is—weren't you just telling me that his teacher set up a conference because she was concerned that he refused to talk to the other kids in his class. What is a summer without any real human contacted or socialization going to do to him?"_

"Look Jim I can see why you're concerned, but this is nonnegotiable, Dean can't stay and you know as while as I do that Sam can't come with us."

Jim was quiet for a long time, but after a sad sigh, he spoke again. _"What about his nightmares John? I won't be able to hear him if he has one, he'll be all alone."_

"It's time he learns to deal with them by himself, he's too old for to be crawling into Dean's bed every time something scares him."

"_That's not fair John, he's just a little boy and you don't know what goes on in those dreams." _

Suddenly a thought struck Sam; he had never been away from Dean for that long before—a whole summer! Dad and Dean might stop by for a night or so in-between hunts, but it wouldn't be the same. Dean was always with him, Dean was the one constant in Sam's life and they were being torn apart for a whole summer! 

When he woke up in the dark after a nightmare, which seemed to haunt him more nights than not these days, he would be by himself. Dean wouldn't there to tell him that it was just a dream...it wasn't real.

He started to panic his breathing started coming out is gasps and hot tears streamed down his face he didn't even realize that he had started to wheeze. 

"Sammy?" Dean's soft drowsy voice called. "Are you okay Kiddo?" 

Sam didn't reply he couldn't get enough air to speak.

"Shh Sammy, I'll get your inhaler, take deep breathes clam down..." Dean crooned soothingly, as he leaning over the side of the bed into Sam's duffle bag to retrieve the inhaler. Once he got it, he helped Sam take a hit. "Do you need another puff?"

Sam shook head and waited impatiently to regain his breath.

"What was that all about? I thought I heard you crying." 

"Just a nightmare." Sam replied it was a nightmare, spending the entire summer away from his brother. 

"Boys." John called. "Is everything okay over there?"

"Yeah Dad we're fine, Sam just had another nightmare."

"Are you alright Sam? Do you need to talk about it?"

"I'm okay Dad."

"Okay then you boys get back to sleep we have a long day tomorrow, we're driving to Pastor Jim's place."

"Yes Sir." The brothers replied in unison.

Dean turned back to Sam and asked in a whisper. "Are you sure you don't wanna tell me about it?"

Sam nodded. "I don't remember anything, I just woke up scared."

"It's okay Sammy; you don't need to be afraid, I'm right here...I'll always be here when you wake up."

* * *

Thanks for reading. Do you think so far? 

**A/N: No Winchesters are going to be killed in the making of this story, however I make no promises about injuries. **

Oh and Sam has asthma in all my stories.

This story has been nagging me for a while; I should warn you that once you read the next chapter you might find that this story just isn't your cup of tea. If it is any consolation, there will be **limp Sam** later:). 

And a thanks to my buddy Shawn for bring your laptop to Disneyland so I could type this up.

I apologize to all you 'Thin Line' readers if I would have known my friend was bring his laptop I could have finished the next chapter, but it will be up as soon as I get back.


	2. Chapter 2

Thank You for Being a Friend

Chapter 2

Summary: When John decides that Dean is old enough to start hunting, Sam is left behind for the summer.

AN: Another one for Robbie.

* * *

Dean got a big smile on his face when John told him the news; he had been waiting for this moment for a long time.

"I get to go with you?" Dean asked excitedly he wasn't sure that he had heard right.

"Yup." John replied. "You'll just be watching and by the end of the summer you might be helping me with an easy one."

"Really?" Dean asked. "Awesome!" He hurried over to where Sam his sitting on the motel bed. "Did you hear that Sam?—I finally get to hunt with Dad and Caleb and Bobby and—."

Dean stopped when he noticed that Sam didn't look very excited, Sam had his head down and was looking at the floor.

"What's wrong Sammy? Are you still feeling bad from last night?—Does your chest hurt or anything?"

Sam shook his head. "I'm okay."

"Then why the long face?"

"'m jus gonna miss ya, that's all..." Sam replied sadly.

"Gonna miss me? How come?" Dean asked.

"Cuz you're gonna be gone for the whole summer."

Dean paled and hurried back over to John. "Dad what about Sammy? He's coming too isn't he?"

"Sam is still too young Dean; he'll be fine with Jim."

"But...but Dad—"

"Dean he can't come, when he's your age he'll get come with us too."

Dean gasped Sam still had four years before he could hunt with Dean, that was four summers! "But Dad, he needs me. I can't leave him for a whole summer."

"Dean stop it." John growled he was getting sick of this. "Sam cannot come, he'll get used to it and so will you. End of discussion."

"But—"

"What did I just say?"

Dean sighed sadly and went back over to Sam. He sat next to him and wrapped an arm around Sam's slim shoulders. "We'll come visit..."

* * *

­­­­­­­­­­­­­

Poor Sam was nearly hysterical when John and Dean were leaving. He was trying to be brave. John was waiting for Dean in the living room and Sam stood by Jim's side, he was looking at the ground with his arms crossed tightly over his chest.

John ruffled his hair. "Be good for Jim, alright?"

"Y-yes Sir." Sam said in a strained voice, trying to keep from crying.

"Hurry up Dean. I'll be waiting in the car." John called.

Dean had been excited when John had first told him that he was going to spending the summer on a real hunting trip. However, it soon set in that he and Sam wouldn't see each other for weeks at a time.

Who was going to watch out for Sam while he was gone?

Who was going to take care of him if he had a nightmare? Or an Asthma attack?

Heaven forbid Sam got sick or injured and Dean wasn't there!

Dean drug his feet as he made his way to the living room, he saw Sam looking something akin to a puppy at the pound, begging not to be left behind.

"Sammy?" Dean called softly. Sam looked up at his older brother, he was biting his lip to keep it from trembling and his eyes were brimming that tears.

As hard as Sam fought to keep the tears at bay, once one tear escaped he couldn't stop himself from bursting into full-fledged sobbing. Dean pulled him into a hug, barely holding back his own tears as Sam sobbed into his chest, thoroughly soaking the front of his shirt.

"Jeez Kiddo what's with the waterworks?" Dean asked playfully trying to lighten the mood. However, the way that his own voice was cracking with emotion wasn't helping the situation.

Dean rubbed his brother's back, trying to calm him down. "Settle down Sammy you're gonna give yourself an attack." Dean said more seriously. "We'll be back to visit before you know it."

Sam finally got himself under control, although he did continue to hiccup softly. They could hear John honking the horn impatiently and Sam pulled away from Dean.

"Sorry." Sam sniffled.

"Don't be sorry, I'm gonna miss you too. Listen to Pastor Jim okay?" Dean said Sam nodded. "I'll see you soon. I better go before Dad has a fit."

"Bye Dean, I love you...I'll miss you..."

"Love you too Sam, I'll call you when we get to wherever it is that we're going."

* * *

Sam tried to stay awake during the night, he was afraid of the nightmares that would be waiting for him if he let himself fell asleep. He missed Dean who usually slept on the bunk above him.

Dean used to make Sam sleep on the top bunk because he didn't want to climb the latter, but during one of Sam's nightmares, he fell off and broke his collarbone. Dean hadn't let him up there ever since.

Dean was like air to Sam, just like he needed air to survive, he needed Dean and without him, Sam felt like he was suffocating.

* * *

Sam was sitting outside playing fetch with Tiny the Great Dane. Sam had only been with Jim for a week and was already going crazy with boredom.

Jim watched him through a window, from inside the house. He laughed as Sam through the ball across the yard for Tiny and instead of bringing it back, the dog ran off into the dense forest that surrounded the house. Tiny was horrible at fetch.

"Hey!" Sam yelled jumping to his feet. "Tiny come back here!"

When the dog didn't come back, Sam took off after him. Jim knew that Tiny would come back on his own when he got hungry or bored, but he let Sam run after the dog anyway. Maybe Sam would find an adventure, or at least stay occupied for a while.

* * *

"Tiny." Sam called breathlessly. He had been chasing Tiny forever! While maybe not forever, but it had been a good 30 minutes.

Sam leaned his back against a tree for a moment and then slide down to sit at the bottom. He grabbed his inhaler out of his pocket and took a quick hit and then he just sat, enjoying the shade of the tree, while he caught his breath.

"What are you doin'?" A voice called.

Sam nearly jumped out of his skin. He looked around wildly trying to find the owner of the voice.

There was a soft chuckle. "Up here."

Sam looked up into the large tree that he had been sitting against, he couldn't see the face behind the voice, but he could make out the silhouette of a body sitting on a thick branch. "It's not very nice to sneak up on a man like that." Sam said to cover up his fear and embarrassment.

"You're not a man, who old are you, Runt, eight?"

"I'm ten!" Sam snapped.

"Well, from up here you look like you're eight."

"I'm **ten**!" Sam repeated more loudly and with a fierce glare.

"Whatever. Besides if anything you snuck up on me!—I was here first." The voice said childishly. "What are you doing anyway? Who's Tiny...is it that your sister or something?"

"Sister? I don't have a sister, he's a dog and I've been looking for him forever."

"Come up here."

"What for?"

"Cuz you can see better from up here."

Sam shrugged and started to climb the tree, like the voice had suggested. He soon found himself on the same branch with a boy, the boy was a few years older than himself, but still younger than Dean. The boy had short light brown hair and blue eyes and at the moment, he looked quite smug.

"I told you, you could see better from up here." The boy said, Sam rolled his eyes. "What's your name?"

"What's your name?" Sam asked.

"I asked you first!"

"Sam."

"I'm Brian." The boy said he looked out over the forest. "What does your dog look like?"

"He's as tall as me and he's white with black spots."

"Oh you mean Pastor Jim's dog." Brian said.

Sam nodded eagerly. "Have you seen him?"

"Nope, but he's probably back at Pastor Jim's place by now. He never stays gone long."

"Are you kidding me? I've been looking for him for an hour."

Brian shrugged. "What are you doin' with the pastor's dog anyway?"

"I'm staying with him for the summer." Sam replied his eyes narrowed. "How do you know Pastor Jim?"

"_Pastor _Jim, gee, I dunno...maybe he's my orthodontist." Brian replied sarcastically.

"Ha ha." Sam said dryly.

"You practically asked for it."

"If you go to Pastor Jim's church then how come I've never seen you before?"

"I dunno I go to church every Sunday, since I was born."

Sam and Dean went to church with Jim when they stayed with him, although usually Dean would sneak off to the church's kitchen and Sam would tag along. They didn't really interact much with the rest of the congregation, but Jim had introduced them to some kids their age from around the area. Sam was positive that he had never met Brian before though.

"Well, I better go Pastor Jim's probably wondering where I went." Sam said as he started to climb down the tree. This is exactly why he didn't interact with kids his own age...they are immature and irritating. "Maybe I'll see ya on Sunday." Sam said to be polite, but he really hoped that he wouldn't see Brian.

* * *

On Sunday, Sam sat in the very last pew, as if church wasn't awkward enough, now Dean wasn't even there to make stupid jokes.

"Hey Sam." A familiar voice called.

Sam looked up. There was Brian, dressed in his Sunday best. "Hi." Sam said. He then looked away hoping that Brian would just leave. No such luck.

"What are you doing way back here?"

"This is where Dean and I always sit."

Brian looked at the pew; it was empty except for Sam. "Who's Dean, your imaginary friend?"

"I'm ten, I don't have imaginary friends." Sam scoffed. "Dean is my brother."

"Well, is he your invisible brother cuz I don't see him."

"He's not here. He's on a trip with our Dad." Sam was getting annoyed and he wished Brian would just leave him alone.

"They went on a trip and left you behind? That sucks."

"It's a business trip." Sam snapped. He gave a sigh of relief when the music started, signaling that church was about to begin. However, Brian didn't move. "Shouldn't you go sit with your family?"

"No, that's okay." Brian replied. Much to Sam's dismay Brian sat down right next to him, in response, Sam smacked his head against the Bible Jim had let him borrow. "What are you doing?" Brian asked peering at him intently.

"Nothing, look I have to go." Sam said crawling over Brian to get out of the pew.

"Go where?—to the bathroom? The service hasn't even started yet." Brian said. Sam didn't answer. He walked briskly out of the chapel into the church kitchen hoping that Brian would get the picture. "Wait up!"

Sam could hear Brian behind him when he got into the kitchen. It was a dead end.

"Jeez, you sure do walk fast for a little guy." Brian said. "Why'd you run off in such a hurry?"

"I am not little!" Sam hissed.

Brian shrugged. "There ain't no way that your ten. My little sisters are ten and they're way bigger then you."

"Pastor Jim says, I'm gonna be real tall when I grow up. He's a pastor, he wouldn't lie."

"How would he know?"

"He says it's cuz my legs are long and you can tell how tall a horse is gonna be by how long its legs are." Sam reasoned. "Anyway, how old are you Grandpa...thirteen?"

"I'm twelve and I'm the third tallest kid in my class."

"Wow, the third tallest kid in your class? Do you want me to get you a trophy or somethin'?"

"Sure, and I could get you a nice metal for the smallest ten-year-old alive."

"Oh you're funny." Sam growled.

"I know." Brian said. He started to dig through the cabinets in the kitchen. "Do you think the have any cookies in here?"

"They usually have some weird dinosaur cookies on top of the frig." Sam said.

"I love those!"

"So does Dean." Sam said he really missed his brother.

"Dean...your imaginary brother?"

"He is not imaginary! He's real, ask Pastor Jim after the service."

"Maybe I will." Brian threatened.

"Go ahead." Sam said.

Brian got up on the counter so that he could reach the top of the refrigerator. Sam took this opportunity to escape, he did not need a new friend, and he had Dean.

Sam found Jim's office, but before entering, he checked to make sure Brian hadn't followed. He went into the office, crawled under the desk and hid.

He cringed as he heard the door to the office creak as it opened. He closed his eyes and held his breath hoping that the intruder wouldn't see him. He could sense someone knelling in front of him and a finger poked his shoulder. Only then did he open his eyes to find Brian smiling down at him, holding the box of dinosaurs cookies.

"I was wondering where you went." Brian said.

"Why won't you leave me alone?" Sam asked in a hostile voice.

Brian wasn't put off by his tune at all; he merely shrugged and bit off a dinosaur's head. "Cuz I'm bored."

"Well, don't you have any friends of your own?"

Brian nodded. "Yeah, but they're all out of town for the summer, my mom and dad work a lot so we don't ever get to go anywhere for the summer."

"Well that's not my problem so find someone else to bug!" Sam yelled.

"Fine I will." Brian said stomping back the way he had come.

* * *

Thank you for reading friends and thank you for your reviews, I really appreciate them.

This story spans over six years, the next chapter will be a continuation of this year. I was trying to make this a short story...although that didn't really work out.

Can you count how many times I wrote 'Brain' instead of 'Brian'?

And for any 'Thin Line' readers the next chapter will be up on Wednesday.


	3. Chapter 3

Thank You for Being a Friend

Chapter 3

Summary: When John decides that Dean is old enough to start hunting, Sam is left behind for the summer.

AN: Another one for Robbie.

* * *

­­­­­­­­

Sam was lying under the shade of a large tree in Jim's backyard, reading flipping through a book. He was looking at the words, but he wasn't really reading them. He never thought it was possible to die from boredom until now.

It was ridiculous really, he found himself wishing that he hadn't sent Brian away. The summer as nearly over and Sam felt like he had wasted it.

"Sam?" Jim called from the porch. Sam sat up and trotted over to the man. "Lunch is ready, go wash up."

"Yes Sir."

Minutes later Sam slipped into his chair at the table. He bowed his head as Jim insisted on saying a quick prayer over the food and then he started to eat his sandwich.

"Do you have anything fun to do today?" Jim asked.

"No Sir."

"I saw you talking to Brian Parson at church a while ago, he's a nice boy."

Sam shrugged. "Yeah, I guess."

"You could ask him over if you wanted to."

"Thanks, maybe I'll ask him some time..." Sam known he would never ask Brian over, he was pretty sure Brian hated him now. Not that Sam blamed him, Sam knew he had been a jerk and he felt bad about it.

Jim was hoping for a more animated response from Sam, but he wasn't surprised, Sam had always had trouble with other children. Jim sighed. "I have a fishing pole. If you want you can take Tiny and go down to the river and fish for a while."

"Okay." Sam was more enthusiastic now, he and Dean went fishing sometimes with Caleb and they always had a good time. He took another quick bite of his sandwich and then tossed the remaining crust to Tiny, who swallowed it. He pushed in his chair and jumped to his feet. "Where's that fishin' pole?"

Jim smiled at Sam's excitement. "Out in the shed. If you would wait until I finish my lunch, I would go get it for you. It's dusty out there and I don't want you having an attack."

Sam waved the suggestion away with his hand. "I'll be fine...I can handle a bit of dust."

"Just try not to inhale."

"I won't." Sam headed to the door. "Thanks for lunch, we'll be back soon." He slapped his thigh and called over his shoulder. "C'mon Tiny!"

Sam hold his breath as he went into the dusty shed, he grabbed the fishing and jogged off towards the river, with Tiny following at a more leisurely pace.

When he passed the tree where he had met Brian the first time, he looked up into the branches in the hopes that he would find him there again, but no one was there. He sighed and continued towards the river.

* * *

Fishing just wasn't as fun without Caleb's constant chattering and Dean splashing Sam with water and all of the boys playing little pranks on each other.

Sam flashed back to one of his favorite fishing memories.

He could see Dean bent forward trying to get the small fish that he had just caught off his hook. Caleb was so focused. He was trying to be sneaky as he stuck his fishing hook through Dean's underwear, his tongue stick out of the corner of his mouth in concentration. He was dead set on giving Dean the ultimate wedgie.

Sam was covering his mouth with his hand to stifle his laughter; Caleb shot him a warning glance and mouthed a firm _'shut up'_. Caleb had been so busy trying to quiet Sam that he forgot to watch what he was doing and jabbed Dean right in the caboose with the sharp hook.

Dean let out a loud yelp, dropped his fishing pole and the fish that was attached to it and jumped nearly his own height in the air.

Sam was laughing so hard that he was crying and Caleb was rolling on the ground with glee. Poor Dean was rubbing his butt and glaring intensely at the two boys.

Sam laughed softly at the memory.

He was lying back, with his head resting on Tiny's stomach. He was sitting close to the water, with the fishing pole held lazily in his hand. He had almost drifted off when a he heard footsteps coming towards him.

He pushed himself up to find two boys, about Dean's age, standing before him. They had overly friendly smiles on their faces and their arms were crossed over their chests, they towered over Sam.

"Hey." An ugly blond boy said. The other boy, a red head, went behind Sam.

"Hi." Sam replied nervously. He nudged Tiny with his elbow. "Some guard dog you are." In response, Tiny stretched and sniffed the boy behind Sam, after licking the boy's hand, Tiny trotted off towards home. "Great." Sam mumbled under his breath.

"Ya know you really shouldn't go around in the woods by yourself...they're hunted you know." The red head warned.

Sam scoffed these boys wouldn't a ghost if it poked them in the eye.

"You don't believe me?" The red head asked. Sam shook his head.

"He's callin' ya a lair Chad." The blond said.

"Are you calling me a lair Kid?"

San thought for a moment and then nodded. "Yes."

"I don't take kindly to be called a lair."

"I think a dip in the river might be just what he needs to knock some sense into him." The blond suggested.

The red head nodded in agreement. "Empty your pockets first...we wouldn't want you to loss anything important, like money."

"I don't have any money."

"I don't believe you, show us."

Sam turned his pockets out. He pulled out a gum wrapper, some lint and 64 cents. "Happy now?"

The blond boy shrugged. "Well, I guess if you don't have anything for us, it's time for your swim."

There was no way that Sam was going in that stupid river, he spared a second to think about how he could get a way, while the two bullies were arguing over how to split the 64 cents.

He looked around trying to find the best escape route, out of the corner of his eye. He saw something that didn't quite fit in with the rest of the forest. Leaning stealthily against a thick tree stood Brian, he put his index finger to his lips, signaling to Sam not to say anything.

Sam gave a very discreet nod to acknowledge Brian. Brian grabbed a few pebbles off the forest floor and through them at the two boys as a distraction.

"What the hell?" The boys asked looking around to see where the pebbles had come from, Brian throw a couple more pebbles at them hitting them in the head.

"Come on Sam, run!" Brian called. He led the way running through the forest, hopping over rocks and logs. Sam spared a look back at the boys—they looked pissed and they were chasing after Sam and Brian.

Sam was trailing a ways behind Brian. Brian turned around to see where Sam was, when he saw Sam lagging behind, he turned back around and jogged over to him. "Ya gotta hurry up Sam, they're gonna catch up with us."

Sam fall to his knees trying to suck in the precious air, he shook his head. "Go." He said waving for Brian to keep running.

"I can't just leave ya here, they'll kill ya! Just a bit further."

Sam wheezed loudly he had just occurred to him that he didn't have his inhaler. He knew exactly where it was, he could see it sitting in the pocket of the jeans that he had been wearing yesterday.

"Can't..." Sam gasped.

Brian looked up to see the two older boys come into view, pointing toward him and Sam, Brian gulped. "Well I guess they'll kill us both then."

Brian and Sam sat helplessly was the bullies sprinted towards them; they had resigned to their faith.

"Leave 'em alone!" A loud voice called causing the bullies to skid to a stop. They looked around trying to see where the voice had come from, they saw no one. "I said leave them alone. Go."

The two older boys looked frightened; the blond looked at the red head. "I told you there were ghosts out here!" They both took off running the other way.

Brian also looked slightly afraid, but Sam smiled weakly, he knew the voice well. "De..." He wheezed.

Dean hurried over to the two boys. "Sammy! What the hell happened? I can't leave you alone for five minutes without you getting into trouble."

"You're...back."

"No kidding?" Dean scoffed. "Where's your inhaler?"

"Other...pants."

"Don't tell me you were running through the woods without your inhaler." Dean scolded. "Don't panic okay?—you're gonna be just fine." He soothed then turned to Brian. "Who are you?"

"Brian."

"I need you to run to Pastor Jim's house, can you do that Brian? My dad and Jim went into town, but go into the laundry room and check all the pants for an inhaler."

"Yeah, I'll be back in a second." Brian jumped to his feet and ran towards Jim's house.

Dean had Sam sitting up, leaning against his chest trying to ease his breathing.

No matter how many attacks Sam had in his lifetime, he would never get used to being unable to breathe. He tried to take his mind off it, this wasn't anywhere near his worst attack, but his first instinct was to panic.

"When...get back?" Sam asked breathlessly.

"Shh, shut up, don't talk. Dad and I just got back. Jim told me you went fishing at the river, so I came to find you. This was not the welcome I expecting—really a manly handshake would have been sufficient."

Sam could only smile in response. "Missed...you."

Dean hugged Sam tightly. "I missed you too Little Brother."

"Where those two boys pickin' on you?" Dean asked.

Sam nodded.

"I don't think they'll be coming back."

"Scared 'em..."

"Yeah I did, they probably pissed their pants and ran home to their mommies."

"Hunting...fun?"

"Hell yeah hunting is fun. You seen Dad in action from the car, but it's even better close up. And I got to help Dad torch a spook. It was awesome!"

"Glad...back." Sam leaned further into Dean's chest.

"I'm glad to be back too. Didn't you have any fun around here?"

Sam shook his head.

"No? What about that kid who was with you? Brian, his name's Brian right? He seems cool. Who is he?"

Sam didn't even hesitate, he replied confidently. "Friend."

* * *

Brian came sprinting back towards Sam and Dean. He hadn't taken very long, but Sam's attack had practically passed on it's own by the time he got back.

He was panting heavily as a handed the inhaler to Dean and abruptly sat on the ground in front of Sam. He watched worriedly as Dean helped Sam take a hit from his inhaler.

"Is he gonna be okay?" Brian asked.

"I'm fine." Sam told Brian.

"Shh, didn't I just tell you not to talk?" Dean flicked Sam in the forehead and then turned to Brian. "He'll be fine."

"Good." Brian said with a nod.

"Why don't you come back to the house with us Brian, my dad got a pizza."

"Yeah! Come have some food." Sam pleaded.

Brian shrugged. "Okay."

Dean grabbed Sam under his arms and lifted him to his feet. "Take it easy." He warned as they started walking slowly toward Jim's house. He kept a firm grip on the back of Sam's shirt.

"Dean!" Sam whined trying to swat his brother's hand away. "Let go!"

"No, it's your punishment for forgetting your inhaler." Dean said with a smirk.

"Humph!" Sam pouted.

It seemed to take forever for the boys to get back to the house, but when they did, they devoured the pizza ravenously.

"I'm going to take a shower." Dean announced leaving the two younger boys in the living room. "Hey Brian."

"Huh?" Brian asked.

"Thanks for taking care of Sammy." Dean said before leaving the room.

"I told you Dean wasn't imaginary." Sam said with a smirk.

"I guess he's not." Brian laughed.

"Hey Brian?"

"Huh?"

"I'm sorry that I yelled at you that time at church."

"Oh that's okay. My mom says I have that effect on people."

"Yeah, well I was still rude and you didn't deserve it. Can you forgive me?" Sam asked sheepishly.

"Okay." Brian agreed easily.

"Thanks." Sam said. The boys sat in a comfortable silence for a while, just watching TV.

"Summers almost over." Brain stated softly.

"Yeah."

"Are ya leavin' soon?" Brian asked sadly.

Sam nodded and quickly added. "But I'll be back next summer."

Brian immediately perked up. "Okay! I'll see ya next summer."

"Okay...but what if we don't recognize each other? It's a long time 'til next summer, what if you don't look the same?"

Brian thought for a minute. "I know! We'll meet at that tree where we first met."

* * *

­

Hey there friends, thanks for reading!

Thank you to those of you who take the time to review.

Have an awesome day!

P.S. Thin Line readers: I apologize for the wait, I had chapter 10 finished, but I wasn't happy with it so I'm in the process of rewriting it...sorry to leave you with that cliffy, but the next update will be up ASAP.


	4. Chapter 4

Thank You for Being a Friend

Chapter 4

Summary: When John decides that Dean is old enough to start hunting, Sam is left behind for the summer.

* * *

**Summer 1994**

John and Dean were leaving again, Sam hated being dropped off and having to watch them drive away without him. They were leaving him behind.

Dean was fifteen now and he and Sam had grown slightly apart that year. John said it was because Dean was growing up and he was interested in different things now—like girls and hunting.

That is all Dean ever talked about, Sam couldn't relate to him...girls were gross and Sam still wasn't old enough to hunt.

Sam and Dean had never fought as much as they had this last year. Dean had changed and Sam was having a hard time excepting it, even now. As mad, as he was at Dean for changing he was still sad when his brother left.

He couldn't stop the tears from streaming down his face, just as they had the year before and as much as he wanted to pull away, he felt better when Dean embraced him and told him that they would be back to visit.

Sam laid around the house for the rest of the day after John and Dean left.

* * *

"Where are you off to?" Jim asked. Sam came flying down the stairs and ran through the kitchen, where Jim was sitting nursing a cup of coffee and reading a newspaper.

"I'm going out to woods to play for a while, is that okay?" Sam hopped from one foot to the other in excitement.

"Yup, have fun out there and make sure you take your inhaler this time."

"Yes Sir, I have it. See ya later!" Sam ran out the door.

Sam hurried through the woods to the tree where he had promised to meet Brian, before he got there; he felt something hit him in the arm. He looked around, trying to see what it was, when something hit him in the head.

He search the ground to find what had hit him, just as a picked up a skittle out of the dirt, he heard laughing. He looked up in the tree, there was Brian, hanging upside down on a branch, throwing skittles in the air and trying to catch them in his mouth.

"Hey Sam."

"Hi."

"I thought you weren't gonna show up."

"Well, I thought _you_ weren't gonna show up."

"Naw, I couldn't stand my sisters for another second."

"I never had a sister, are they that bad?"

"Yeah, before I left they wanted me to play 'tea party', so I ran."

Sam shuddered. "Eww!"

"I know." Brian said. "So what'd are we gonna do?"

"I dunno."

Brian got back to the ground. "We could go into town and get some ice cream, wanna?"

"Sure."

It was a fairly long walk into town, but with company, it went by quickly. The boys went into the ice cream parlor looking over their options before ordering.

Sam had decided on a chocolate ice cream with gummy bears mixed in and Brian got vanilla with crumbled Butterfinger on top.

They were about to sit down at one of the small tables in the parlor when two shrill, perfectly in sync voice called. "Brian!"

Brian stiffened and slowly turned in the direction that the voice had from. There were two girl dressed almost exactly alike except that one had purple shoes and the other had pink shoes. "Molly, Mindy." He greeted coldly. "Sam these are my sisters, Molly and Mindy."

"Nice to meet ya."

Mindy and Molly looked at Sam and then started whispering to each other and giggling. "Hi Sam."

"Don't you two have something to do?" Brian asked.

"No." Molly replied.

"We wanna play with you and Sam." Mindy said.

"No way!" Brian shouted. "Besides, Sam and I aren't playing. We got some important stuff to do."

"Like what?" Mindy and Molly asked

"Just stuff." Brian huffed.

"We could help." Molly pleaded.

Brian scoffed. "We have a strict 'no girls' policy."

"You're mean! We're telling Mom!" Molly cried.

Mindy looked over at Sam, who was quite uncomfortable with the situation. "You don't have to go with Brian, he's stupid and mean. You can come play house with us."

Sam looked frightened and shot a desperate look at Brian.

"Sam is not going to play house with you—he's a boy and boys don't play house!"

"So what? He could be my husband." Molly suggested.

Mindy glared at her. "You mean he could be _my_ husband, don't you?"

"No. He's my husband." Molly insisted grabbing Sam's hand.

"He's my husband!" Mindy growled. She fought with her sister for Sam's hand.

As the twins continued to bicker, they seemed to forget about Sam all together and Brian managed untangle Sam from his sisters. The boys were able to make a quick escape without Molly and Mindy noticing.

Sam and Brian went running down the street hoping to get a way before Molly and Mindy realized they were gone.

"Sorry about them." Brian said.

Sam shrugged. "That's okay, I'm jus' glad I don't have any sisters."

"You're lucky, Dean seems cool."

"He's the best brother ever, but all he talks about now is girls and h—." Sam stopped himself before he spilled the family secret.

"Girls and what?"

"Girls and cars." Sam quickly amended.

"Oh yeah? I'd rather hear about girls and cars than ponies and Barbie any day."

Sam laughed. "Me too."

* * *

"Hey Sammy, did you have fun?" Jim asked when Sam came into the house.

"Yeah, Brian and I just went into town and got ice cream."

"I'm glad you had a good time. You're Dad called."

Sam looked sad. "While I was gone?"

"Yup."

"Do you think they'll call back later?" Sam asked. "I wanna talk to Dean."

"Oh, I don't know." Jim said teasingly. "They did tell me to give you a message though."

"What?"

"That they'd be here day after tomorrow and they'll be staying for a week."

Sam's sad frown turned to an excited smile. "Really? A whole week?"

"A whole week."

Sam was a bit worried now. "They're okay aren't they? Nothing happened to them, right?"

"They're fine, they just need sometime to research and get organized before the next hunt."

"But they're not hurt?"

"They are both fine Sam."

"And they're coming day after tomorrow?"

"That's right."

The next morning Sam ran into the forest with Tiny in tow. "Brian!" He called excitedly.

"Hey Sam." Brian said.

"Guess what." Sam said hopping for one foot to the other with excitement.

"You have to pee?" Brian teased.

"Huh?—No." Sam laughed slapping Brian lightly on the arm and he forced himself to stand still. "Guess!"

"What?"

"Dean's coming to visit tomorrow!"

"Really? That's great Sam. What are you two gonna do while he's here?"

"I thought that maybe you and Dean and I could go swimming day after tomorrow." Sam suggested.

"Okay, that sounds fun, as long as Dean doesn't mind me comin'."

"Naw, he likes you. He told me so." Sam said.

* * *

"Dean!" Sam called running towards his older brother and attacking him with a bear hug, before he could even get inside the house.

Dean returned the hug. "Hey Sammy." He held Sam at arms length and looked him over. "I think you've grown since I last saw you...how old are you now? Thirteen?"

Sam giggled at his brother. "You know how old I am Jerk!"

"Oh right, seven."

"I'm eleven!" Sam pouted.

"Oh that's right. I remember now." Dean nodded. "I'm going inside...it's freakin' hot out here and I'm hungry."

Sam followed Dean inside like a puppy. Dean sat down at the dining room table where John and Jim were talking and there as a plate of sandwiches in the middle of the table and Sam sat in the chair beside him.

"Hey Dean?"

"Huh?" Dean replied as he ate a sandwich.

"Tomorrow me and Brian are going swimming...wanna come?"

"Sure." Dean agreed in a distracted tone.

Jim's house phone started to ring and Jim excused himself from the table to answer it. He came back a few minutes later.

"That was Caleb, he's passing through and he's going to be stopping by for a few days."

"You think he would help me with my training Dad?" Dean asked eagerly.

"You'll have to ask him." John said. He was so proud; Dean had taken to hunting like a fish to water.

"When's he coming?"

"He said he'd probably be in late tonight." Jim answered.

"Maybe we can go shooting tomorrow." Dean thought aloud.

"But Dean!" Sam cried. "You said you'd—"

"Caleb'll only be here for a couple days. We can hang out after that." Dean assured Sam. "Okay?"

Sam was about to protest, but instead nodded sadly. He didn't say so, but he was hurt that Dean would rather send time that Caleb than with him.

* * *

When Sam got to the river the next day, Brian was already pulling his shirt off and stripping down to his boxers.

"This sure was a good idea Sam, it's real hot today." Brian said.

"Yeah." Sam replied dully, he stayed quiet as he also took his clothes off until he was only clad in a pair of boxers.

"What's the matter Sam?"

"Nothin'."

"Hey, where's Dean?"

"He didn't wanna come. He went out with our dad's friend instead." Sam looked down at his feet so Brian wouldn't see the tears in his eyes.

"Oh...ya ain't gonna cry are ya?" Brian asked gently.

"No!" Sam replied defensively wiping his eyes with his forearm.

"It's okay if you do. My sisters cry sometimes when I'm mean to them."

"I'm not gonna cry! And besides Dean wasn't mean to me, he just..."

"Whatever you say."

Sam gave Brian a playful shove sending him into the water, when Brian surfaced he spit some water out of his mouth.

"Hey! What was that for?" Brian asked, but instead of waiting for an answer, he grabbed Sam's ankle, causing Sam to fall into the water also.

"Hey!" Sam cried in protest.

"Hey Sam, I bet I can hold my breath longer than you."

"In your dreams."

"I'll count to three and then we'll go under. Are you ready?—One, two, three." Brian and Sam both ducked under the water. Sam came up first. "Ha! I told ya."

"Yeah, yeah. It was probably just a fluke."

"You wanna redo?"

"Naw. Ya think the water's deep enough to dive in?" Sam asked.

"Hold on, I'll check." Brian sucked in a deep breath and swam to the bottom of the river. After awhile he popped back up. "Yup, looks deep enough."

The boys dove into the water a few times and they played and swam. They spent a long time in the water, when Brian got out and sit down against a near by rock.

"I'm taking a break." He announced.

"Okay." Sam replied. He also got out of the water and sat beside Brian. "Once we're done taking a break, I want a rematch—I know I can hold my breath longer than you."

"You're on!" After only a few minutes Brian jumped up and ran to the river. "Last one in is a girl!" He shouted.

Brian dove into the water and Sam followed. Brian resurfaced and waited for Sam to do the same so he could call him a girl. He waited, but Sam didn't come up.

"Sam?" He called looking in all directions. "Come out, this isn't funny..." There was no reply. "Okay, you win. You can hold your breath longer." Brian was getting frantic. "Sam! Please."

He went under the water and looked around; he did not see Sam anywhere. He went back to the surface to get air. He went back under, this time he swam deeper. He got to the bottom of the river and found Sam lying there, his eyes were closed. Not far from Sam was a rock.

He quickly grabbed Sam, swam to the surface, and pulled Sam's limp body out of the water. He slapped Sam's cheek. "Sam! Come on wake up!"

Brian didn't know what to do, he was sure Sam was dead. Brian didn't know if Sam was breathing, he also didn't know CPR. He tried the only other thing he could think of, he turned Sam onto his side and patted his back as hard as he could. He knew it probably wouldn't work, but it was worth a try.

"Please Sam breath."

He was shocked and amazed when Sam started to cough up the water.

"Thank God!" Brian cried. As labored as it was, Sam was breathing.

Brian looked for injuries; there was a large, bloody bump on the side of Sam's head where he had hit the rock.

"Sam?" Brian shook his friend. "Wake up."

Sam didn't stir at all. Brian tried to decide what he should do. Leaving Sam wasn't an option, but it could be hours before anyone got worried and came looking for them.

He shook Sam again. "Sam."

This time he was rewarded with a soft groan. Sam's eyes slowly flickered open. "Bri?"

"Oh thank God! Sam are you okay?"

"My head hurts, I don't wanna swim anymore. Where's Dean?" Sam slurred, he looking around clumsily.

"His not here Sam...'member? You said he was with your Dad's friend."

"Yeah he didn't wanna hang out with me." Sam said sadly.

"Aw, Sam that's not true."

"Yes it is!" Sam snapped, and then quickly became docile again. "I didn't wanna swim anymore...can we so somethin' else?"

"We're gonna go back to Pastor Jim's."

Sam started to pull himself in to the sitting position, only to sway dizzily; Brian leaned Sam back against a bolder and wrapped his arms around Sam's shoulders to keep him still.

"How come?"

"Cuz your head's bleeding and you're actin' funny."

"Am I?" Sam touched his forehead with his fingers, but he quickly pulled them away when he felt something warm and sticky. He looked down at his hand for a long time then without even glancing up at Brian he announced, "I'm bleeding."

"I just told you that."

"Huh." Sam grunted dropping his hand into his lap and closed his eyes. He curled up against Brian, laying his head on Brian's shoulder. "I'm tired Dean."

"I'm not Dean, I'm Brian."

"Okay." He slurred drowsily. "Night Dean."

"No!" Brian shouted in alarm, Sam barely stirred at the noise. Brian shook Sam. "Sam, you can't go to sleep. Open your eyes come on Sam talk to me."

"Go 'way De." Sam turned away from Brian and laid his head on the ground.

"Sam!" Brian shook him, he didn't respond at all this time. "Sam, please. Sam? I'm Dean! Yeah, it's me Dean...I'll be anyone you want me to be, just, please, wake up."

* * *

Dean came wondering through the woods, with his hands in his pockets, looking down at his feet. He was supposed to be at the shooting range with Caleb, but at the last minute Caleb decided that he would rather stay with John and Jim and have a beer. Dean would never admit it, but it had hurt his feelings.

Dean felt even worse knowing that that is was exactly what he did to Sam the day before. He was ashamed and he thought he could make it up to his little brother by coming out to the river for a while.

When he finally made it the river, he was a bit surprised when he didn't see Sam and Brian splashing in the water.

"Maybe they went home." Dean muttered to himself. That didn't make any sense; Dean would have run into them on the way if they had left already. "Sammy!" He called.

He listened carefully for a response, but instead he heard a soft voice, he couldn't quite make out the words, but he looked around for the speaker.

The voice seemed to becoming clearer; he could now make out the words: "Sam come on, please wake up."

The words made Dean move faster. He finally he saw his brother slumped against a bolder with Brian standing over him, shaking him and begging him to wake up.

"What'd you do to him?" Dean asked accusingly as he pushed Brian away from his brother.

"N-nothing, I...he jumped into the water and hit his head on a rock. I thought it was deep enough for diving—"

"Well obviously it wasn't!" Dean said shortly as he knelt beside his brother.

Brian looked ashamed, but added. "He woke up for a little while, but—."

"Sammy? Wake up." Dean whispered firmly. He ran his hand through Sam's hair, looking for a bump. Sam winced when Dean touched it.

"De?" Sam mumbled.

"Yeah, Kiddo it's me." Dean said. "Do you think you can walk Sammy?"

Sam nodded briefly. Dean pulled him to his feet and kept a firm hold on him as he swayed dizzily.

"I gotcha Sam." Dean led Sam over to a large tree. "Hang on to this while I grab your clothes." When Sam didn't respond Dean shook him gently. "Sam?"

"Okay." Sam replied shortly grabbing hold of the tree.

Dean gathered Sam's clothes and helped Sam put them back on. It's wasn't easy with Sam so out of it.

"Dean?" Brian came over to see what he could do to help. "Can I help?"

Dean glared at him briefly before turning back to the task. "Haven't you done enough?" Dean snapped. "Why don't you just go home and leave us alone."

Brian looked hurt, but after one, more look at Sam he turned away and started walking home.

Dean half dragged and half carried his dazed brother back to Jim's house. It's clear that Sam was suffering from a concussion. They had dealt with concussions plenty of times and the best thing Dean could do was get Sam back to house so John and Jim could take care of him and stitch up the gash on his head.

* * *

A week later Sunday rolled around. John and Dean had left the night before and although Sam was sad, he and Dean had been able to spend a lot of time together. In fact, after Sam's unfortunate diving accident, Dean had all but refused to leave Sam's side.

Sam was well enough to go to church with Jim and he was excited to Brian again. They hadn't spoken since the accident and Sam wanted to thank Brian for saving his life. He didn't remember much about it, but he could kind of remember Brian staying with him until Dean got there.

Sam sat in the very last pew was, as he usually did and watched the door, waiting for Brian to come in.

At last, he saw Brian walk in the door behind his two sisters.

"Hey Brian!" Sam called.

Brian looked at Sam for a second then nodded at him briefly and continued to follow his sisters down the aisle.

Sam looked crestfallen. He wondered if he had done something to make Brian mad. Through out the service Sam tried to recall what he had done anything to upset Brian, but he couldn't think of anything.

He saw Brian got up toward the middle of the service and walk out, Sam decided to follow him.

Brian noticed Sam following him and started walking faster.

"Brian wait!" Sam pleaded. "Please, did I do something wrong?"

Brian stopped walking, but didn't face Sam.

"Brian?" Sam called.

Brian slowly turned around. "You didn't do anything wrong Sam."

"Then why won't you talk to me?"

"Cause it's my fault you got hurt in the first place!"

"You're fault? How?"

"I was the one who was supposed to make sure that the water was deep 'nuff for diving, but I messed up and you hit you're head."

"That wasn't your fault. We dived in there plenty of times and came up fine." Sam said. Brian thought about that for a while. "Really Brian, it was just a silly accident. I'm fine now, thanks to you."

Brian looked at Sam to make sure he was serious. "Are you sure?"

Sam nodded and tapped his head with his fist. "I got a hard head."

Brian laughed. "That's true."

* * *

Hey friends,

First, I want to apologize for the long wait. I have no excuse, I just got ahead of myself with this story and now I'm paying for it in the form of writer's block.

I hope it was worth the wait and thank you for reading!


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